Flow control means



Aug. 8, 1950 w. s. LANDON 2,518,339

FLOW CONTROL MEANS Original Filed Dec. 3, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A} ATTORNEY g- 1950 w. s. LANDON Y 2,518,339

11.0w CONTROL MEANS Original Filed Dec. 3, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG-5 4 3 H M I lNVEN'i'OR BY a; ,amr KW M ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 8, 1950 U N L'IFED STATES [C E ELQW CO RDL MEANS Walter S. Landon, h-Detroin- Michi, assignor to-Deitroit Lubricatonf fiompany, Detroit, Mich.,y a :eorporationsofi' Michigan Qriginalapplication December 3, 1943, Seriallflo.

I 2 71 n wf te .i2i. 2,7i5. da e S91 ternber 9;-1947.-" Divided and-this application SebtemberlZ, 1945, SerialN o:=615;87 5

e 'rllaii fin; ofethe ,device; during timesofmonuse such as, will occur in shipment.

2.-"= biect;is to provide means to con- 143L110 tl'lfizjliQllid head on '-the"out1et of theidevice in ,cordance withchange initheieffective area e; out-letiport.

nothervobiect is-to provide means to lock; the ;,inlet;and;out1et yalves' i in rglosed; rposition.

-Ano then gobjectsisq t0. .eprovide? means to; establish predetermined? fio -from the ,outlet.

1 J-lnothen ObjfiCt;,iSgjrtQqQlOVidG, a device which qa wb r adi as emb e andradisassembled a tithe n w.

Another; object; is to'providenieans to. prevent il l d -th ds ev c :Jli ,ven ioni e sis se n:t enimp ov d .0 Ustruction and-combination of narts 170, be more m lvl described" hereinafter. and, the? novelty of WIAiGhzWiH. vbe m.

tinctly claimed.

,In-the accompanying drawin s to be takenias a pa t-- th s; spe fi ation :there a e i ull n villu rate .veralipreferredemb diments ot hednvention in which drawings:

having the coveramember removecbto show nlnternal 1 structure :nFiga: 2. is a vieweinsection on the line 2 2 of \Fig: l;

iiznFigt 3 is a view in section on-theiine 3---3 of gFig: 5 is a detail'view looking from left t'o ri'ght facing Fig; 2 and taken on the line 575;

Fi 6 sv a deta iew s w ich ns ip ,lsiti npf. ce ta nfl f theipar s as ai-resu v t e peratureinhange;

Feia 7 is ads ail vi weeo in rom ie t r o ri ht ia a- Fi 1 4 an showing: a. m d fiei .i rm; lot .q ntr ldeviq h n Rig. 8,.is aflview in verticalsection ,throughr the ee stanti eve :Qfifii wi h?certai ,partsiomitted noyakqlegpaiits; which wiiLresult-Iromjarring and the; ,undesirable admission oft; water; or ,-:other at r icular v. pei edfi ut: a d d sesignatesg,n generally a. casing-v or 5 container prov-iding anonstant liquid level chamhaving an? inletipassageway 3i with a horialp ti;on;. haying an winternally screwee,-,Eig.-; g' 'l'rhe horizontal portion, cons a;tupnlargstrainerimember 5 carried by a aded plug .6 screwedsinto the horizontal pasgeyvay :portion-at; its -0pp osite; end from the inmention; 4.: Elie passageway 31has an upward he option 'lh ascrewr'threaded into-the d o the ,boss sithere tis a=guide-and be}; 9 having an: inlet ;,p0rt and valve ndicontaining a, needleuvalve' l l which zi war e yo ith memb r 9, Whe ded with an; endslot l2. (The member z9e-ql saat lz lieuut t o sl a aboveand on the outlet side, of the nyalve seatand: feeding into the chamber; 2 L-B QSiEiQIIEdQWith D-I the; chamber 2 ithere is, a hollow",-annnlar; float member 14 iwhi himayib i rth nt he t and hi h is woner-e ive y collecte t eiinletv v l: bin a resilient leyer ;l Ehaving asresilient v-portion and Q ii lcgunied on a, pivotrpin or shaft l6. 1'. he,; lever ..-l ach s; a ebfllfilfikfll? po i wit a su sta tia y horizontal arm Al I having can end slot H! with a ,iiared or divergent opening and having a width to, notataply n a; cross pin l SY Ze tenQing. between se curedin -the isideewalls 10f;1 the valve: slot wil The-isl t?! f; sl ht y redu width. ladi-iaqsnt-zandlo r ei ward si i s flared e upQrti n th t t e-m 2 Swi l. n as freely therethrong'h. Therefore; the; sidewalls or;arms

0 of the slot l3i 1nust be, flexed slightlyin order to 1;emove ther valve rne mlqer l fZQm jth arm l1. .Tqhe leve e 5 h s.-a ,;upstan.din arm wh h is inclined at an angle ofabout-1W to a vertical [plane thnouehsthesha s fi t a p a hrou h the, p in lilv and the longitudinal icenterline of valveimempers-i I andv Whichis po sitioned ad- :iacentwt ei a dipla et u h t e valveimember ipine .JOut,inter-megiiate; thev pin lS and the shaft 1 6. fiecured to the larm 2!); as by rivets 2 l ,i and I vproyidingthe -resilient portion Of' lever l 5,. there is a,- u shaped temperature responsive inember 22;, of;=; b irnet al having-van intermediate substant iailyi semiqcircular portion and tangential end portions one of the end portions lying and being "secured a ainst-the arm 20 by the-rivets 2|. The

port- I9.

it or of a metal having substantially the same I jecting inward into the chamber 2 from the side walls of the casing I, the shaft I6 substantially fitting the slots 24, so that the shaft I5 is held against lateral movement transversely to its longitudinal axis. The end portions of the shaft I5 extend through inclined substantially horizontal elongated apertures in parallel downward extending. arms 25, see Figs. 2 and 5, projecting fromtheunderside of parallel side flanges 26 of an adjustment andsupporting lever 21. The side flanges 26 at the end of the lever 21, opposite the supporting members .25, have downward extending bearing ears 28 having substantially horizontal open. .bearing slots 29 therein opening through the end edges of the ears which face away from the members 25. The slots 29 receive a bearing shaft 3llsecured at its ends in alined apertures through sidewalls of the casing 'I and through positioning bosses 3| projecting inward from. the casing side walls. Positioned below the shaft 39 the casing I has a horizontal shelf or wall .32 which cooperates with the ears 28 to locate the slots 29 on the shaft 30, the lower edge ..portions 33 of theears 28 being arcuate and serving as cams cooperable with the shelf 32,

so that when the lever 27 is positioned for and moved into assembly into-the casing I the engagement of the ear end portions 39 with the she1f-32 will guide and position the slots 29 to slideover or onto the shaft--30 as the lever 21 is rotated counterclockwise downward and simultaneously slid toward the right facing Fig. 2. Through the shelf 32 there is a vertical internally threaded aperture in which there is screwthreaded a downward extending overflow pipe 35 for outflow of liquid from the chamber 2 in the event the valve member II fails to seal the This pipe or tube 35 also functions normally as an atmospheric air inlet to the chamber 2 and, by having it open downwardly through the shelf 32, prevents the entrance of dirt, water or other foreign matter into the chamber 2.

Concentric with the float member I5 when it is in horizontal position, as in Fig. 2, there is an upstanding combined liquid outlet and gas vent member 35, of generally oval form in horizontal cross section, which extends upward from the bottom wall of the casing I and terminates advertical relation a vent passage 40 and an outlet port 5| having a valve seat member 42. Through the side wall of the member 36, at, but on the inlet, side of the seat member 42, there is a horizontal substantially rectangular slot 5 3 providing a' port for flow ofsliquid from the chamber 2 to the port ll and forming part of the outlet passageway 38. The member 36 has, above the slot 43, a cylindrical guideway 44 in which there is positioned a longitudinally reciprocal metering valve 45 having, at its lower end, a cylindricalport closingportion 55 of reduced diameter to slidably fit the outlet aperture through the seat member 42. The valve portion 35 terminates in a downward tapered metering portion 41, which cooperates with the seat member aperture to control flow from the chamber 2. On the reduced end portion 45 there is a shut off disc or washer 48 engageable with the seat member 42 to seal the outlet passageway 38, the disc 68 preferably beingof resilient rubber-like material, such as Ameripol. Thewasher 48, however, may be dispensed with when the control device is to be used in extremely low ambient temperatures at which the viscosity of the liquid would render the washer unnecessary. The stem 49 of the valve :5 slidably fits the guideway 44 and has projecting therefromnpper and lower, substantially horizontal and parallel, guide pins 59, 5|. which are slidable into a bayonet type slot 52 in the upper end portion of the member 36. The slot 52. has downward facing locking shoulders 53 cooperable, upon rotation of the stem,

with the upper circumferential edge of the pin 59 which provides an upward facing locking shoulder. The stem 49 extends upward through a circular opening 54 in and through the lever 21 and therebeyond through an aperture 55 through the cover member 56 of the casing I.

. Within the casing I and above the lever 21, the

stem 49'has a downward facing shoulder 51 against which abuts the upper end of a helical coil spring 58 surrounding the stem. Secured as by rivets to the underside of the web or base .of the channel lever 2'! at a point'above thelever supporting shaft 39, there is a movable supporting member'55, preferably a leafspring downwardly ofiset, as at 69, to lie substantially par allelto the lever 22'. The leaf spring 59 extends longitudinally of the lever 2'! to a point substantially midway between the metering valve stem 49 and the float supporting arms 25. Through the spring 59 there is an elongated aperture 6| of less width than the diameter of lever aperture 54 and having at its end toward the lever supporting shaft 39 a radial slot 52. The pins 59, 5| are of av length to pass readily through the lever aperture 54 and are of a diameter and length to pass readily through slot 62, so that the pins 50, 5| can be withdrawn upwardly through the slot 62 and the aperture 54. The lower end of the coil spring 58 seats on a washer or disc 63 which is of less diameter than the aperture 54 but which is of greater diameter than the width of the aperture 6 I, so that the side edge portions of the disc 63 seat on the leaf spring 59. Thespring 58 is under compression and therefore pulls and holds the upper circumferential edge of the pin 50 into and in engagement with the underside of the leaf spring 59 at a side portion of the aperture 5 I, so that the metering valve 45 is movable with, the lever 21. An adjustment screw 64 is adjustably screw-threaded in an aperture through the lever '2! and has, at its lowerend, ahead or lateral flange 65 on 'screw liland-willthereafter-flex the supporting pilot or'low fire, then the stem 49 is manually leaf spring 59; thereby permitting the valve por- -tion 4! to be withdrawn from its seat member orifice beyond its-high fire position and for a -greatly=increased flow of fuel tothe burner. This bayonet slotand therefore when the stem-49 is released, the-metering-valve 45, under the force depressed or moved downward which acts through V the spring 58 and leaf spring 59 to move the lever 21 downward against the upward component of force of the compression spring f Before'the resilient stop member 8| engages the stop screw 83, the spring H will be moved overcenter, so that the combined downward component'of spring 11 and the force of spring 58 *wi11 hold the lever 21 in its minimum flow position with stop 8| against screw'B3. This down- "ward movement of the lever 21 will establish a new positionfor the metering valve portion 41 and will also move the inlet valve fulcrum pin l6 downward in its guide slots 24 from the position a for high fire to the position 1) so that there will be simultaneously provided a new and decreased liquid head on the outlet of chamber 2 and a reduced effective flow area through the seat member 42. The positioning of the pin I6 at the level 1) will'move the float member |4 down- 'ward to theposition indicated by the dash-dot line S, Fig. 2, and establish the liquid level at the line L The bimetal lever portion 22 will function in this new position of the valve fulcrum l6 to-compensate for temperature changes in the of leaf spring 59, seeks and rests in its highfire position.- -Atthe above maximum fire rate of flow ---to the burner-,theinlet valve M will bemaintained aboutnO06 of an inch off its seat by the float member |4-so that there will be'a continuous substantially constant rate of flow toand through -thechamber 2, while the burner is in operation at a'given ambient temperature; If the temperature -of theambient drops on decreases; then the --bimetal lever portion 22 will contract to lift the inlet valve relative to the 70 F. constant "liquid level line corresponding to the full line --position of the float member, Fig. 6 to provide a greater rate of inflow to the chamber 2, thereby --increasing the head of liquid on the chamber outlet to compensate for the increased viscosity or density of the liquid fuel. The upward movechamber 2.

- "ment of the valve II by the bimetal member or -portion 22"will result in the float member l4 rising with the increased liquid level, thereby'depressing the valve H to throttle the inlet to the When the temperature of" the ambient has decreased to say 60below zero, then the bimetal'portion 22'will have contracted until the float member l4 takes the position shown in dash dot lines in Fig. 6, which will not only raise the valve-adjacent upper corner of the float member H but will tilt or rock the float member I4 relative to the valve member II and to the normally horizontal liquid level line. It will be apparent that as the temperature decreases from -70" F. above zero, the bimetal portion 22- and the float member l4 will be correspondingly shifted or moved toward the dash dot line position of Fig. 6, thereby gradually increasingthe liquid level in the chamber 2, until, at'the minus 60 F. temperature, the level will have been increased substantially to the line L, see Fig. 2, 'therebyproviding a liquid head of substantially inch. This increase in liquid head will also in part be caused by the reduction in the force of the float member acting against the liquid head "from the supply tank by reason of the shortening of the lever arm to the-length X Fig. 6 from the 70- -'F. length Y, which is the length between the --shaft l6 and the center of buoyancy of the float member. It is desirable that the increasing liquid head shall not compensate fully for the increasing viscosity so as to maintain a constant rate of flow from the outlet 38 as the temperature decreases or when the temperature holds at a new level, because aslightly decreasing flow rate from the outlet can provide full heat output compensation at the burner by reason of the increase in the viscosity of the liquid fuel, since the more dense the liquid fuel becomes, the greater theB. t. u. content of'the fuel for any given quantity. If the temperature of the fuel and air increases to sa 100 F. above zero, then the float 'member [4 will take the dotted line position, Fig. 6, to maintain a lower constant liquid level in chamber 2 and the bimetal member will have expanded to increase the lever arm to a length indicated at Z which increases the force of the float member on the inlet valve.

- If it is desiredto reduce. the burnerflame to} same manner as described above.

If it is desired to shut olT the burner, then the stem 49 is moved further downward, compressing the spring 58 against the opposing force of'the low fire stop spring 8| and flexing the spring 8| so that the fulcrum pin |6 is moved further downward in itsguide slots 24 until the center line of the pin l6 reaches the horizontal line 0" when the float member I4 will have been moved to the dash-dot line t, Fig. 2, and be in engagement with the bottom wall of chamber 2, the

- valve being simultaneously seated with washer 48 against the seat member '42.

the metering valve stem 49.

In order, how ever, to lock the inlet valve in closed position, the pin 50 must pass below and be rotated to lie under the bayonet slot shoulder 53. This further downward movement of the metering valve stem 49 will further-compress the springs 58 and 8| and willflex the bimetal portion 22 against its inherentresilience even when contracted'by the minus 60 F. sub-zero temperature, bringing the fulcrum pin I6 say to the line 11 and therefore the float member I4 and the inlet valve M will be resiliently urged against the bottom casing wall and the inlet valve seat respectively so that vibration or-jarring of 'the casing I will not cause movement of any part. 'Upon movement of the locking pin 5|) downwardto underlie the shoulder 53, the cylindrical metering valve portion 46 will have been moved through its valve seat aperture,

thereby cleaning the seat port of any foreign matter or wax which may have separated out of the fuel. The positioning of the pin;5!] to underlie shoulder 53 will have compressed the valve disc 48 against the seat member 42, thereby sealing'the outlet passageway 38. The valve stem 49 'may now be rotated either clockwise or counter- 2,3 rests heldinthi"i1pp6s'iti6'fi and the metering stem 49 is lifted against -the- -joree'oi the coil spring 58 and the leaf spring 59, so that the pin clear nfe tob' or the s'terfi 'guitle me stem 49 can now be rotated to brmg 50, 5| in line with the' erot ca:rhmeny'permimn withdrawal of the metering valve through the rotated' ff urth'er upwar'd, 'l ifting.th'e inlet valve- I I as': the bearing p in lfiiinoves upward-inane guide slots-=24? When the valve- ;II has- -been withdrawn irorn its guide member 9 and -thebearing pi-n-I Q has been need but be the slots -24, m"

then with the float member I4 clearing the top of the guide member 96, the lever 21 can be moved to the leftracing r'ig 'z "s'o'that the fulcrum slots 29 are removed from the bearing shaft 30 i- -The clisassembly wi'l'l- -result izr three subassemblies, namely the bracket II, the metering valve and the lever 27. In these subassemblies, the bracket II will be carrying the spring 11, the metering valve 45 will be carrying the spring 58 and washer 63, and the lever 21 will be carrying the float member I4 and the inlet valve I I. If it is desired to disassemble the subassembly of the lever 21, this may be readily done by pushing out the bearing pin I6 and snapping the valve I I out of its supporting slots I8 in the lever I5. Reassembly of the control device will be apparent from the foregoing steps of disassembly but it might be noted that with the float member positioned to pass over the guide member 35, the slots 29, aided by the cam portions 33 of the ears 28, are positioned to slide onto the bearing shaft 30 and then the lever 21 is rotated downward counterclockwise to bring the ends of the float member supporting pin I8 into the guide slots 24 so that the inlet valve II hanging vertically will pass into its guide member 9. The lever 21 is held in an up position suflicient to permit the pin 5| of the metering valve to clear the top of the guide member 36 and the metering valve 45 is then inserted through the aperture 54 and slot 62 when it may be rotated to the position shown in Fig. 2. Continued downward movement of the lever 21 is now had and then the coil spring I? is seated against the lever abutment I6 and the bracket H is positioned downward into its seating position as in Fig. 2 and the holding screw 55 is screwed in place. The cover member 56 may now be secured in position and the control device is ready for operation.

Referring to Fig. 7, the control device here illustrated is constructed for only two metering valve positions, namely maximum or normal fire position and burner off or valve closed position. The low fire adjustment screw 83 is eliminated and likewise the resilient stop member 8|, described above, and the coil spring receiving end portion of the main lever 21 is bent or inclined upwardly, as at I00, so that when the metering valve 45 is moved downward to off position such that the pin can be rotated under the shoulders 53, the lever engaging coil spring 'I'I will not be moved over or below its center line position. The spring 11 will therefore be continually exerting an upward component of force on the lever 21, even when the metering valve is in its closed and locked position. The operation of the control device with the change as i this Fig. 7 and the adjustment of the same for high or maximum burner flame is the same as above described in connection with the device of Fig. 2. It is there;

as pins as theonly change is the eliminationof the-low fire setting or position of the partsfexcept; that the metering valve and float position will auto matically move to high fire position upon release of the pin z'ail'irom beneath the-shoulder 53 In FigB there is shown another form of lock ing means for holding the inlet valve closed and I l ,which also'is useful to maintainthe inlet-valve apertures 5| and 54. The lever 21 can now-be l0 and float member-against-vibration or movement during transportation, --thereby -avoi ding wearing: or the parts which may-render-the device unfitfor use -upon-arrival at its ;destination.--- The inlet valve- I- l controlling the-inlet 'port I O ls-connected tothefioat member= I4 by-a lever arm -I20- -w hich rnay,lif=desi ed; be ef a construction-similar w the -leverl ef-'Fig. i=2,--a fulcrum -or pin-12 I being provided for 'theleverarm-I29. Mounted on the I cover member 56- there a tubulanguide mem berql 2 Z-ali-ned-with an aperture-throughthe-cover member and in which there is reciprocable a manually operable pull rod I23 having a guide and latching finger or pin I24 which, upon rotation of the rod H3, is seatable upon a guide mem ber shoulder i255 to hold the rod I23 in an up position. The rod l23 carries an abutment member I29 having an end portion I21 reciprocally guided in a chamber I28 in the inner end portion of the rod I23 and supported against downward movement by a helical coil spring I29. The abutment member I26 has a horizontal arm I30 engageable with the underside of the float memher It, such that when the pin I24 is on the shoulder I25 the spring I29 will be under compression, thereby holding the inlet valve I I tightly against its seat and the float member [I4 in an upward locked position, tensioning the lever arm I28. The float member I4 and inlet valve I I can be released for operation by rotating the rod I23 5 to position the pin I24 in line with the guide member slot I3! and then moving the rod I23 downward into the chamber 2. It will be apparent that this locking means of Fig. 8 will be found useful in other forms of float controlled liquid level devices than that shown in Fig.

This application is a division of my copending application Serial No. 512,716, filed December 3, 1943, 2,427,059, granted September 9, 1947.

What is claimed and is desired to be secured by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A liquid flow controlling device, comprising a constant level chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a longitudinally reciprocable metering valve controlling said outlet, a lever supporting said valve, a spring acting on said lever and tending to move said valve to increase the flow from said outlet, a stop engageable by said lever to limit its movement by said spring, and a lostmotion connecting between said valve and said lever for opening movement of said valve beyond the limit of said lever by said stop.

2. A liquid flow controlling device, comprising a constant level chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a longitudinally reciprocable meterin valve controlling said outlet, a lever, a movable member resiliently held in fixed position on and carried by said lever, means securing said valve to said movable member, a spring acting on said lever and tending to move said valve to increase the flow from said outlet, and a stop engageable by said lever to limit its movement by said spring, said movable member providing lost-motion movement of said valve relative to said lever for for Flow Control Means, now Patent 5 i a constant level chamber having an inlet and an outlet, a vertically reciprocable metering valve controlling said outlet, an adjustment lever, a spring acting on and urging said lever in a valve opening direction, a stop to limit movement of said lever by said spring, a leaf spring secured at one end to and extending along said lever, an abutment member limiting movement of said leaf spring relative to said lever in valve closing direction, said valve having a stem extending beyond said leaf spring, a shoulder on said stem engaging the valve side of said leaf spring, a coil spring surrounding said stem and held under compression between said stem and said leaf spring to hold said shoulder against said leaf spring, and means to limit movement of said lever in a valve closing direction, said leaf spring and said coil spring providing for overtravel of said valve in The following references are of record in th file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 10 Number Name Date 973,551' Osborne Oct. 25, 1910 1,637,230 Mueller July 26, 1927 1,730,497 Fisher Oct. 3, 1929- 2,129,93'I Johnson Sept. 13, 1938 15 2,186,128 Ullstrand Jan. 9, 1 940 2,199,538 Curry May 7, 1940 2,332,556 Breese Oct, 26, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS I 7 20 Number Country 'Date 309' Great Britain Dec. 31, 1914 opposite directions when said lever is limited by said stop or by said limiting mean respectively.

WALTER S. LANDON.

REFERENCES CITED 

